Accuser initially recanted allegations last year

The former voice of the "Sesame Street" character Elmo is being sued by a man who claims the entertainer lured him into drug-fueled sex when he was 16.

Sheldon Stephens, who's now 24, says he met Kevin Clash at a networking event. He says he was brought by limousine from Pennsylvania to a New York apartment. There, Clash allegedly smoked crystal meth while giving the teenager another recreational drug.

Stephens first made the allegations last year, but recanted after failed efforts to reach a settlement. He renewed the accusations in a lawsuit filed Monday in federal court in Pennsylvania.

Clash's attorney Michael Berger says his client denies any wrongdoing. He says Stephens already admitted he had an adult consensual relationship with Clash.

A day after Trevor Noah was declared the new host of "The Daily Show," complete with the blessing of the exiting Jon Stewart, graphic tweets targeting women, Jews and victims of the Ebola virus are causing a social media backlash.